Mr. Accident and the Long Road to Surgery

It’s a cold winter morning at Mitchell’s Plain Hospital (MPH). Mogamat is wrapped up tightly in a fluffy blanket. He peeks out shyly when anyone speaks to him. He’s a slight, pale child with soft eyes. His mom, Waaghida, squeezes him tight as she tells his story.

The problem started when he was about two years old. “In the beginning, he would get sick all the time,” Waaghida says. She took him to the clinic several times before they decided to try a private doctor. “The doctor found that his tonsils were huge for his age, so when they get infected, it affects his breathing. They also found that he has a tongue tie, which they will fix today.” It has been a long wait.

They were referred to MPH, but time and again, their appointments were cancelled because there was no ENT available. The delay meant that Mogamat had to endure multiple rounds of antibiotics, which had to be carefully selected to prevent resistance. Finally, in June 2025, Waaghida got an appointment, and his surgery was scheduled for the following month with a surgeon from the RCWMCH, funded by the WWL.

By then, Mogamat had wriggled his way out of the blanket and started exploring the playroom. “He’s a busy bee,” Waaghida laughs. “I call him Mr. Accident because he always gets hurt when he gets up to nonsense.” Within minutes, and after only one small mishap involving a pile of chairs, Mogamat was hard at work “fixing” the play kitchen with blocks as his imaginary tools. “His dad is a carpenter,” Waaghida explains, laughing.

Mogamat’s tongue tie makes chewing difficult. Combined with the constant pain caused by his swollen tonsils and adenoids, he is nervous about swallowing. “Because he wasn’t eating, I had to keep him on milk,” Waaghida says, her voice tinged with concern. “I stopped that at the beginning of this year to see if he would eat. He likes peanut butter and bread, or noodles, but he only eats one meal a day. He’s so tiny!”

His illness has affected the whole family. Waaghida had to quit her job because she was grappling with a lack of sleep and was afraid to leave her little one alone. “He travels with me everywhere, even when I drop off and fetch my two older children from school.”

Now, the day of the surgery has finally arrived. Waaghida is relieved, but also nervous about how Mogamat will cope. “I had the same problem with my daughter, but she was eight when she had her surgery. I’m scared because he’s so young. And if he’s sick, he doesn’t eat at all, so I’m worried he won’t eat anything after this.” She looks over at him. “He’s turning five in two weeks. I hope he’ll be recovered by then.”

Children on surgical waitlists may not be in immediate danger, but their childhoods are on hold. Many wait up to two years, living in pain or struggling with symptoms that slow their development and harm their long-term health. The Weekend Waiting List makes more surgeries possible. Every operation completed reduces the provincial backlog and provides each child with the care they need. With your support, we can ease pain, restore childhoods, and provide every child with the healthy future they deserve.